New CenturyLink CFO Brings Integration Experience To New Post

Neel Dev served as interim CFO since departure of Sunit Patel in September

The CenturyLink Technology Center of Excellence in Monroe, La. in 2015. The company has named Neel Dev as its permanent finance chief.
Photo:
Margaret Croft/Associated Press

By

Mengqi Sun

Nov. 6, 2018 8:32 pm ET

CenturyLink Inc.
on Tuesday named
Neel Dev
as its permanent finance chief, elevating an executive with experience on both sides of a deal that essentially doubled the size of the telecommunications provider.

Mr. Dev, who was CenturyLink’s group vice president of finance, had been serving as the interim chief financial officer since the departure of
Sunit Patel,
who in September left the Monroe, La., company to lead
T-Mobile US Inc.
’s integration with
Sprint Corp.

Mr. Dev also worked for 13 years at Level 3 Communications Inc., rising to group vice president of finance before the company was sold to CenturyLink for $25 billion in 2016. He was the integration planning lead for Level 3 before the deal closed last year.

CenturyLink, which interviewed several external candidates, said Mr. Dev was the ideal candidate, citing his knowledge of both companies, his experience in financial and operational roles and his relationship with CenturyLink’s chief executive,
Jeff Storey,
and others in the company.

The appointment is the latest move in a shake-up of top management at CenturyLink. Under pressure from activist investor
Keith Meister
to replace its management team with Level 3 executives, the company’s former chief executive Glen Post III stepped down in May, handing the reins to Mr. Storey, who was the Level 3 chief executive before the acquisition.

CenturyLink plans to disclose Mr. Dev’s compensation on Wednesday in a regulatory document. The company reports quarterly earnings on Thursday.

The announcement was made after the close of regular trading. CenturyLink shares rose 0.7% on Tuesday, closing at $21.15.

—Write to Mengqi Sun at Mengqi.sun@wsj.com.

Corrections & Amplifications CenturyLink plans to disclose Neel Dev’s compensation on Wednesday in a regulatory document. An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated CenturyLink planned to disclose Mr. Dev’s compensation in its quarterly earnings report on Wednesday. (11/6/18)

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